Spaghetti Carbonara in the UK: what it is, how to order it, where to find it
Quick answer
Carbonara is spaghetti bound in a glossy sauce of egg yolk, hard cheese and rendered guanciale, with black pepper and nothing else. No cream, no garlic, no onion, no peas. It is a Roman dish and the one most often mangled in Britain; the whole skill is making the egg into a silky sauce without scrambling it.
Calories and nutrition
- Calories
- 700
- Protein
- 30 g
- Carbs
- 70 g
- Fat
- 32 g
- Salt
- 2.6 g
600–850 kcal
Portion: One restaurant portion, about 350 g.
A cream-based version is higher in fat and calories; guanciale carries most of the fat in the real dish.
Estimates for a typical portion, based on standard UK and USDA food composition data. Actual values depend on the recipe and the restaurant.
What carbonara really is
Four ingredients: guanciale (cured pork cheek), pecorino Romano, egg yolk and black pepper, on spaghetti or rigatoni. The guanciale is rendered until crisp, the pasta cooked and tossed with beaten yolk and grated pecorino off the heat so the residual warmth turns it into a creamy emulsion. The starchy pasta water loosens it. Done right it clings to every strand and tastes of pork fat, sharp sheep's cheese and pepper. There is no cream in an authentic carbonara; cream is the British and American shortcut that makes it heavy and flat.
How to judge it in a restaurant
Ask, or watch the plate: a real carbonara is pale gold and glossy, not white and thick. If it arrives with a visible cream sauce, or with bacon and onion, the kitchen has anglicised it. Guanciale rather than pancetta or bacon is the mark of a serious Italian kitchen; pancetta is an acceptable substitute, streaky bacon is not. Good pecorino, not cheddar or a cream-cheese fudge, is the other tell.
Carbonara versus cacio e pepe versus gricia
These Roman pasta dishes are variations on the same few ingredients. Cacio e pepe is just pecorino and pepper. Gricia adds guanciale. Carbonara adds egg to gricia. Amatriciana adds tomato to gricia. A restaurant that does one well usually does all four; they are the test of a Roman kitchen.
Where it is done well in the UK
Any Italian restaurant with a Roman or southern kitchen should make it properly; the trattorie and osterie in our directory are the places to look, rather than the chains. The list below shows areas with the most Italian restaurants by name.
How to order it
Ask whether the carbonara has cream; the honest answer 'no' is a good sign. Order it with guanciale if offered. Eat it immediately, while it is glossy. A restaurant that also lists cacio e pepe and amatriciana knows its Roman pasta.
Where it's done well
UK councils with the most spaghetti carbonara specialists, by restaurant name, in our directory.
Restaurants near you
Search by postcode or use your location to find restaurants likely to serve spaghetti carbonara near you.
Make it at home
Serves 2 · 25 min
Ingredients
- 200 g spaghetti or rigatoni
- 100 g guanciale (or pancetta), diced
- 3 egg yolks and 1 whole egg
- 60 g pecorino Romano, finely grated
- lots of black pepper
Method
- Cook the pasta in well-salted water until al dente, keeping a cup of the water.
- Meanwhile render the guanciale in a cold dry pan over medium heat until crisp and the fat has run; take off the heat.
- Beat the yolks, egg and most of the pecorino with plenty of black pepper.
- Add the drained pasta to the guanciale pan (off the heat), toss, then pour in the egg mixture and a splash of pasta water, tossing hard until it turns silky and coats the pasta. If it looks dry add more water.
- Serve at once with the rest of the pecorino and more pepper.
The heat of the pasta cooks the egg into a sauce; do it off the flame or you get scrambled egg. The pasta water is essential for the emulsion.